Dead or Alive?
by rockmysocks456
Summary: Neal is on the scene of Mozzie's shooting. POINT BLANK SPOILERS! READ AND REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

_* I had to write this, after watching Point Blank last night! I have hope for Mozzie! READ AND REVIEW!_

* * *

Neal watched, standing there on the sidewalk, beside a bloody bench, as Mozzie was being loaded into an ambulance. The lights flashed, winking hazily at Neal but he ignored it. He tried to swallow, but the pain of the giant lump in his throat did not allow him to. First Kate, now this? Of all people he had left in the world, not Mozzie. No, not Mozzie.

He'd been at the spot immediately after hearing what had happened. Passer-bys saw Mozzie sitting there on a bench, sipping his coffee nervously, when a bullet exploded into his chest, and he fell on his side, bleeding. Julian Larson. He was responsible. And Neal would make him pay.

He didn't know, whether Mozzie would live, or die. _Please, please, please_, he prayed, _don't let Mozzie die. _

He had thought, only hours ago that he was so very close, to finding Kate's killer, and avenging her once and for all. But he knew, as he pointed the gun in Fowler's face, that something wasn't right. This didn't feel as good as it should have. It hadn't been Fowler. So close he'd been. Yet now, so far away...

Over the course of the past few days, he'd learned a great deal about Kate's death, things Peter had dug up for him, and things he'd discovered himself, and it'd been hard on him.

Peter had asked him nervously, "Neal? Are you okay?"

He had responded that he was fine, but inside his heart had shattered, and he was on the verge of mental breakdown.

But here he stood, on the sidewalk, staring after the ambulance as it sped away. Not fast enough. It had to get to the hospital, _now._ Neal watched it, _faster!_ He nearly jumped out of his skin when a hand clapped on his shoulder. Apparently the person to whom this hand belonged noticed, because a strong arm flung out to keep Neal from falling.

"Neal! Are you alright?"

He paused, regaining his balance a little unsteadily. It was Peter that had arrived. Neal knew he could tell anything to Peter, but he couldn't find it in himself to lie to him. Of course he wasn't alright. His girlfriend's killer was even farther than they'd thought, and the killer had now just shot his best friend!

Finally Neal found speech. He croaked, "Mozzie..."

"I know, bud. I know..." Peter said gently, grasping Neal's arm to keep him from falling again.

Neal had gone paper white, and his balance was becoming increasingly unstable.

Mozzie. Shot. Possibly dying. Because of him. It was his fault Mozzie was dying.

Had Neal gotten to Mozzie sooner, had he gotten to _Julian_ faster, had he not been so concerned with that stupid music box jingle... Mozzie would be back in his apartment, probably sampling all of his wines and beating him over and over again in chess.

But Mozzie was on a stretcher on his way to the hospital with a possibly fatal bullet wound.

Neal was unaware of the fact that Peter had forced him to sit down on the bench. The bench that Mozzie had been shot on. Neal felt something warm and sticky on his fingers.

He drew his index and middle fingers up to eye level and discovered they were coated in blood. Mozzie's blood.

"NEAL!"

Neal didn't realize that he had slid off the bench, fainting.

But even unconscious, all he could think was: _Would Mozzie be okay?_


	2. Chapter 2

_* I had only intended to make this one chapter, but I got some Alerts so this is the FINAL chapter. Yup, only two, sorry! I'm working on a new White Collar fic so, stay tuned! READ AND REVIEW!_

* * *

Neal heard Peter's voice faintly, the kind of voice you hear when you're under water, and someone speaks to you from above. That kind of deep, slow, difficult to understand voice.

"_Nee...l? Wake... P... Eel..."_

Mozzie. Possibly dying. Kate. Already dead. Her killer living on. Living on to shoot Mozzie.

Neal promised himself, as he lay there, unconscious flashbacks and memories flying through his head, voices echoing across his brain, that he would find this, _Julian Larson_ and kill him. He wanted to avenge those he cared about. How could Julian take two out of the three of his closest people to him?

No. Mozzie wasn't dead. _Yet._ Said an evil voice in Neal's head. Mozzie couldn't die. He couldn't wrap his head around something as sinister and as impossible as someone murdering a person like Moz. God, he hoped Moz would be okay. _Shot in the chest? He can't be okay!_ Neal wanted to break down and cry, but he couldn't allow himself to be so distressed. He had to hold it in. And wait.

_"Neal... i...'s okay... Jus... Ake up..."_

Peter's voice was becoming clearer now, and Neal felt himself emerging from unconsciousness. But he didn't want to. He wanted to lie there, (Where ever _there_ was.) forever and die. He didn't want to have to live in a Mozzie-less world.

No. Stop thinking like that, Caffrey! Mozzie's _not_ going to die! _Please, Lord, don't let him die!_

Neal was praying for the first time in years...

"_Neal, it's okay. Wake up..."_

Neal's eyes opened slowly, closing tightly again and blinking his vision into clearer focus. Standing over him was Peter, and he was lying in the grass still close to the sidewalk where he'd fainted.

"Peter?" It was more of a statement than a question, but his tone was inquiring.

"Yeah, Neal. It's me." Peter said gently, looking relieved the conman had woken up.

Neal rubbed his head gingerly and glanced back over at the bench. Cops were examining it, all over, the blood was still there. Mozzie's blood.

Neal turned away from it, "No... Mozzie..." He moaned.

"Neal," Neal was on the verge of blacking out again but Peter shook him lightly and said, "Neal, c'mon stay with me here. C'mon..."

Neal managed to fight off the blackness that had been closing in on him, and he sat up slowly. He grabbed hold of Peter's shoulder and dragged himself to his feet, stumbling slightly he allowed Peter to steer him towards his car.

"C'mon, buddy. Let's get you home." Peter said softly.

"No. I wanna see Mozzie..."

Peter paused. Unsure how to answer that.

"You can see Mozzie... Later. Not now though, alright?"

Neal nodded, had he not been so upset he might've noticed that he was being treated like a confused five year old. But he didn't care.

He didn't know if Mozzie would make it or not.

Gone or still with us.

Past or present.

Dead or alive.

* * *

THE END.


End file.
